Live and Let Die
by LadyTenpenchii
Summary: A single detail causes Hashirama's dream to come to an end. Was Madara right all along?
1. Chapter One

**Live and Let Die**

 **Chapter One**

* * *

Leaves danced in his vision. The world seems blurry, disorienting, disconnected.

The air was crisp and cool, bringing with it the nostalgic aroma of winter snows and dying leaves. With each observation, he grew more aware that he is not in the same place as when he was last conscious. The missing chunk of time sits in his throat, constricting it. He is not aware of how long has passed, where he is, or the situation that he has awoken into. And unlike those missing chucks of time upon getting blackout drunk with Madara, this carries with it a distinct aura of dread and tense anticipation that snaps his long practiced shinobi thought process into control. There are many questions, but for now, the one of the most pressing importance is "where?"

A region that gets cold enough to snow in autumn and has deciduous trees? Perhaps Hi no Kuni or Mizu no Kuni.

Realizing the futility of continuing to lay helplessly on the ground, he sat up and let the blood rush out of his head, the world beginning to take a clearer shape. Suspiciously so. His senses had been so dulled for all the time spent in a bland and dank environment. The days and weeks and years had blended into each other. He felt alive again. It's like seeing the world for the first time. All the colors and scents and sounds. The glaring sunlight burning into his retinas as the brilliant golden rays caught his eyes through the rustling leaves. The tall grass waving quietly in the cool breeze, sending shivers of delight and a chill through his spine. The sound of that breeze weaving nimbly through the occasional oak tree and sending beautiful waves through the lightly colored grass.

Peering around, he identifies his brother on the ground next to him, awake but still gaining lucidity. Shallow cracks skitter across the surface of Hashirama's skin, and the tan color is just returning to his complexion. A sense of dread fills him, choking him. Had someone used the Edo Tensei to revive them? There didn't seem to be anyone else in the area, although Tobirama was beginning to feel the tickles in the back of his mind again. They are chakra signatures. Some in large groups, some in smaller groups, and some individual, although there was something strange about the frequencies of the chakra. They are disturbed, chaotic, showing the signs of emotional or mental stress. One of the lonely chakra signatures in particular, seeming to be the closest to their current location.

Turning, Tobirama attempted to shake Hashirama awake, his brother responding by pushing himself up and revealing to Tobirama that they indeed are alive once again, if Edo Tensei counts as life.

* * *

He won't understand. How could he ever understand? Just a child, but perhaps no more a child than Itachi himself. They awakened him each night, the nightmares. Horrible twisted screaming as he desperately searched for his brother amid the suffocating ash and debris. Sasuke's cries echoing in a heart wrenching cacophony. Sometimes there were others. Konoha shinobi and civilian alike, all ignoring his sobs and his pain as he searched for something that wasn't there. Sometimes he was alone, forced to crawl hopelessly through the dust, caking his forearms and knees in grease and sweat. He always knew it was a dream, but the sensations were so real, the emotional pain so raw, that although he knew it was a dream, the only way he is able to comfort himself as he thrashes himself awake among his bedsheets is to cross the room and peer down into Sasuke's nest. To pick him up, to stroke his soft black hair and feel his heartbeat. To fully ground himself in reality before stumbling back to bed in hopes of a few hours of barely restful, dreamless sleep.

Daylight comes too soon, and with it, Sasuke's cries, the dead eyes of the survivors, and another day of the weight of the world bearing down. Itachi could tell that it was coming, and the imminence of the threat was clearly not lost on anyone else. Suspicious eyes were cast in the direction of the Uchiha, which were met with equally as hostile stares, challenging someone to approach and ask if it were true, if the Uchiha orchestrated the attack on the village. If it were true, Itachi reasoned, the Uchiha would not be permitted to stroll about the village freely. Even if he had pointed this out to the people on the streets that pointed, whispered, and changed their path to avoid his own, he doubted his words would resonate. Fear controlled everyone, making them believe anything which would cast all the blame onto a single source, but reality is never so simple.

* * *

As they approached, Tobirama realized that the distressed chakra signature in question was one that he recognized. They had been soaring through the trees, enjoying the freedom granted by the unlimited chakra of his regrets. As soon as he placed the chakra with a name, he flew to a halt, landing on the nearest tree branch.

"What is it?" Hashirama questioned, "Are we being followed?"

"No," he answered cautiously, "I recognize the chakra signature. And the location."

Hashirama seemed overjoyed. Despite his carefree personality, even his boisterous brother was put on edge by the situation. "Well, that's great! If they're friendly, we can get help!"

Tobirama shook his head. "It's Tsunade, and I don't know how well she'll be able to help. Her chakra is weak and scattered. Something terrible has happened."

"Oh…" The trepidation had returned to Hashirama's gaze. Revival via Edo Tensei and what Tobirama had described as "strange chakra behavior" was enough evidence to constitute a possible crisis, but news that that crisis seemingly had something to do with Konoha… all he could do is pray that they had awakened in time to help. "Let's continue."

The Valley of the End, as it had been named. It was obviously a significant location to Hashirama, who paused and stared down into the gash with a thousand yard stare. Tobirama tapped him, and pointed to a location on the edge of the valley in which a figure was huddled miserably against the onslaught of the waterfall's mist, but unmoving. They leaped down. It was indeed Tsunade, although the last time Hashirama had seen her was when she was still small enough to ride on his shoulders. She was grown now, wearing civilian clothes with the exception of a pouch at her hip which was meant to hold weapons or medical supplies.

Hashirama felt his blood chill as he approached. It was clear why her chakra is so disturbed. She was desperately clinging to another person, with her face buried in its neck. Soft sounds leaked out over the roaring of the waterfall. Tobirama shook his head as Hashirama glanced at him. The woman in Tsunade's arms was dead, limp, but she was cradled against Tsunade in a way that almost made her seem as though she were asleep. Hashirama wondered briefly if the woman was Tsunade's daughter, but it was clear that now was not the time for speculation. Hashirama tentatively settled down next to Tsunade, folding his long legs under his body. He softly laid his hand against Tsunade's shoulder, hoping that she was aware enough to understand that he wasn't there to harm her. She started under his touch, but otherwise didn't move and didn't acknowledge him. He slid his arms around her, attempting to gently separate her from the corpse, which Tobirama quickly checked over. She kept a tight grip on the woman as she laid back against him, and the thought crossed his mind that he may be just as cold as lifeless as the body. Tobirama looked up at him and whispered, "She's not been dead long, perhaps an hour or two."

Hashirama studied Tsunade. Her skin was a bright white, with cold skin slick from the freezing cold water, her muscles were stiff and unyielding, and his attempts to make her more comfortable simply resulted in many pops along her spine as unused joints were brought back to life like machinery which hadn't been well oiled prior to startup. She still gave no indication that she even recognized their presence, even as Hashirama spoke softly, attempting to warm her cold body and thaw her mind to a functioning state. She was in her own world, ignoring all else as she clung to the body.

The dead woman wore a tattered Konoha uniform, beautiful, subtle, embroidery on the collar giving away her clan as Senju. Her hair was many shades darker than Tsunade's, closer to the color of his own long black hair. Her skin was quite pale, although Hashirama couldn't be quite sure what was her natural skin tone and what was caused by the natural process of death taking her body. Horrid third degree burns were visible through torn gaps in her uniform, one on her back even exposing parts of her shoulder blade and spine. She had died in combat, harsh combat by the look of it. The blood stained ground matched one side of her head, where her hair was matted by the blood and it almost seemed as though part of her skull was caved in, which Tobirama confirmed to be the cause of death.

The injuries, the medical gear carried by Tsunade, the Senju woman's time of death, and Tsunade's lack of mobility made the cause of her distress painfully clear. Tsunade had failed to save the life of someone close to her, and recognizing the inevitability of death, had given up, and the woman had died in Tsunade's arms. Her death had not come quickly or painlessly. It would have been hours of a hopeless struggle for life.

* * *

They were buried, all of them. Lowered into a pit and covered with dirt. It was hardly a proper burial, but they had no choice. They had to get the bodies out of the city before anything else could be accomplished. He hated it. Mass graves. So horrible, so disrespectful, reminiscent of the Blood Village of the Mist. The comparison hurt, although he was aware that the circumstances were quite different. Thousands had died last night, civilian and shinobi alike. The Kyuubi's wrath had crushed lives and spirits. The administration was busy handling calls, sorting paperwork, and assessing damage, and had tasked ANBU with the handling of the dead. The shinobi were buried without proper ceremony, each ANBU breathing his own prayers under his breath as the layers of bodies six feet under grew. The civilians were requested to be handled by an outside source, so all they could do was to drop off the body bags in a great pile.

He pulled another tag off a fallen shinobi, wiping the blood and grime off on his pants in order to read the name. No one he knew. "Number 265, Matoka Hiruko." He spoke monotonously, calmly. He had been kept from the brunt of the fighting with the rest of his classmates, so seeing the aftermath was shocking. All he could do now to keep from attacking whatever happened to be in his vicinity in his frustration was to keep himself emotionless. If he got emotional, he wouldn't be able to keep it together, he wouldn't be able to finish his duty.

He stopped for a moment to adjust his dog mask. The porcelain was suffocating, the heat of the new day sticking it to his face such that moving it required that he first peel the edges off of his skin before replacing it. It was still early, yet the temperature kept climbing, which was shaping this day up to be long and insufferable. The skin tight uniform and armor were restrictive and hot, but at least the parts of him drenched in sweat were then cooled off by the occasional breeze, which felt like sweet relief of being dunked into Hi no Kuni's northern rivers.

"Number 266, Umino Kohari."

* * *

Another load of files were unceremoniously dumped on his desk. Why did such things have to happen? They were nothing more than a troublesome excuse for more bureaucratic nonsense.

"Masa, would you get a message to my wife to let her know I won't be home until late tonight?" He hated to do this. They were out and about in downtown Konoha when the Kyuubi appeared. Shikaku had been forced to flee from the battle in order to secure his family from the tailed beast's onslaught, and he knew that he shouldn't be leaving her alone, but the duty to Konoha had to come first, no matter how much it pained him.

* * *

"This is the opportunity we have been waiting for…" Danzo's voice echoed through the underground chamber. He spoke to the entirety of ANBU Root's forces. It was simply a formality. In the absence of companions that shared his enthusiasm for his goals, he had taken to speaking his mind to his subordinates. They wouldn't attempt to overthrow him and he knew he had their support in his opinions. They didn't make for great conversation, but there was no need to have any kind of in depth discussion of the situation in Konoha. However, there was one face that was noticeably absent. Danzo wondered absentmindedly what that snake had gotten himself into the night prior.

This natural disaster's occurrence was due only to the ignorance of the Gokage. The world they have created is broken. Hashirama's paradox was finally coming back to bite them all, as even he was touted as the so called "God of Shinobi" had failed to resolve the hatred consuming the shinobi world. And that was alright. The world is fragile, and hatred is needed to give it strength, give it purpose. Shinobi had fought and died for a pathetic idea of peace that can never be accomplished. They had died in vain. They had died for no reason, all the while lying to others and lying to themselves that their deaths meant something. But that does not mean the world is wholly unsalvageable. Sometimes your potential is merely a measure of how willing you are to be brutally honest about the world and your place in it. The weakness of those in Konoha's light was all too clear to him, so he felt no need to justify his position to the Elders. After all, they had made up their minds and were unwilling to hear him out. "This is it. We must make our move soon. Konoha is weak. We shall build it up from these ashes."

"Execute the plan." He ordered calmly, suppressing the giddiness he felt at the idea of his effort for Konoha's sake finally bearing fruit. At once the Root members were gone, and Danzo was left to his own thoughts as if his army had never been there in the first place.

* * *

He looked warm and safe, bundled up in perhaps an excessive amount of blankets, due to his father's paranoia. A slender finger stroked through the child's palm, and was reflexively grasped in a grip that seemed to melt his uncertainty and his fear of the world. But she was gone. It was painful. In the end, there was nothing that could be done by either himself or Ise which could have saved Kushina's life. He didn't know how he felt. One moment, he hoped she would walk through the door so he could profusely thank her and hug her for allowing him to survive the attack so that he would have the chance to see his son grow and survive. He was overjoyed, but merely moments later he could be consumed by rage at the same person. How dare she! Sealing a monster inside of his son, only to disappear into the night moments later.

He knew on some level that his anger is unreasonable, as he too had seen the masked man, had seen his power, and had felt Ise's awareness that that fight would be her last. She knew something, and he hoped that she survived to share that knowledge. And yet, no matter how many reassurances he received, no matter how many people repeated that there was a search team out, he knew that if she were ever found, she would be found dead. It had been nearly 48 hours with the best sensory ninja scanning not just Hi no Kuni, but surrounding nations as well.

* * *

Hello readers! I would like to clarify that this is a oneshot that is meant to get some feedback on the ideas and the writing from the community before I proceed in writing more chapters. If you have read this far, I would appreciate a review with some feedback both positive and negative!


	2. Chapter Two

**Live and Let Die**

 **Chapter Two**

* * *

The fear was tangible. The Kyuubi hadn't attacked since long ago, and the rumors surrounding the attacks circumstances were rampant. The most prominent of which featured the Uchiha clan as the center of it all. Everyone looked over their shoulders constantly. Particularly civilians. There was distrust of shinobi in general. He had resumed office as the Fourth Hokage, but refused to leave Naruto in the hands of anyone but himself. The days following the attack had been chaotic. An assessment of Ise's seal, as assessment of his own mental health, a great many visits by the Elders, who only parroted the unhelpful "advise" of the daimyo. He felt that he was a broken record, the only thing he could play was the phrase, "We are currently assessing the damage done to Konoha infrastructure." That answer never seemed to satisfy anyone. The daimyo's representative frown and asked again what the estimated repair cost would be in materials and manpower, and Minato simply spit out a nonsense number to make him go away. The elders simply seemed concerned with an investigation into the cause, and decided to have them handle that investigation while reporting to him.

He was cautious, however. He knew there was someone behind it, and mentioned so much to the Elders at their request, but it seemed that although the investigation had not yet started, Danzo seemed to be considering possible sentences for the Uchiha, and seemed to have an overly enthusiastic manner by which he suggested mounting the mastermind's head on a spike.

* * *

Cleaned of the dirt and her own blood, the Senju woman looked almost peaceful in death. Her dark hair spread across the rock as the sun dried her. The gleam of the sunlight illuminated her hair, revealing it to be more red than he had initially seen. Tsunade continued in her silent vigil, only breaking it to reveal that the Nine Tails had attacked Konoha and to question where Tobirama and himself had come from. She simply nodded dully in understanding that they were unaware.

Several hours passed before a Konoha patrol came close enough to contact. Hashirama had stayed with Tsunade. She leaned against him with her eyes closed, but he could not bring himself to stop staring at the woman's body. It was eerie how still she was, lying limp and cold on the rocks, as if she simply went to take a nap in the sun and simply gave up all hope of awakening again. She was beautiful, and put up one hell of a fight if her wounds were any indication. What was most shocking was the lack of any flaw in her skin or her physique. She is young. _Was_ young. Too young. He'd been forced to compromise on a number of issues in order to make his dream of a village work. But one thing he refused to concede was regarding children being sent to war. He wouldn't tolerate it. Lying in front of him was a dead young woman. She was either 15 or 16 in age, or she looked young.

Tobirama's return showed a squad of four ANBU returning from a mission. Hashirama had always found those bone white masks to be scary. There was surprisingly little drama after it was established that they had been brought back with the Edo Tensei technique. He couldn't imagine what this world was like such that meeting Edo Tensei'd former Hokage in the woods constituted an only somewhat unusual day. One of the shinobi, a medic, by the look of his uniform, checked for a pulse while the others looked on curiously. He just shook his head sadly and used his thick white cloak to wrap around the body, even covering her face.

"Tsunade seems to be in alright health, but she's clearly experienced a trauma." Tobirama filled in the ANBU team. "She has said that the Kyuubi attacked Konoha?"

"Affirmative." Answered another ANBU. This one had long brown hair pulled up into a sleek ponytail, her face concealed by a mask resembling a bird. "On October 10 at 2136 the fox appeared in the northeast corner of the village. The current date is October 12."

"Have you found the cause of the attack?" Tobirama questioned. He was curiously watching the ANBU medic attempt to help Tsunade to her feet. "And if two days have already passed since the attack, there could be some effect on Tsunade's health that I could have missed. It seems she encountered this woman fairly soon after the attack."

"Her name is Ise. Senju Ise." The smallest ANBU of the group was staring at the figure wrapped in the white cloak.

The bird mask glanced back at him but made no remark. The boy couldn't have been older than 14. Likely a fledgling ANBU in training.

"Hokage-sama will explain what you need to do and help find a way to undo the Edo Tensei." Bird mask stated, "Return to the village with us. Usagi, send a message before us."

Hashirama grew anxious as they drew closer to Konoha. The Kyuubi had attacked… what would he find when he got there? What would the village look like so many years since his death? How much damage did the attack do? Two of the ANBU handed over their cloaks to them to cover their appearance as they got closer.

It was busy even on the outskirts of the village. Several farms that they passed on the way had been rained down on with debris, damaging crops and buildings. The closer they got to the village, the more shinobi activity was found. Temporary guard outposts had been set up, piles of rubble, rebar and splintered wood were heaped high as the city streets were cleared. At last, they reached a high point at which the village could be looked down on. Many buildings and roads remained intact, but a gash through part of the village sections had been cleared out. Shinobi swarmed over it, searching for survivors, checking the stability of the wreckage, and hauling out debris. Part of the surrounding wall had been seemingly run over by something, as long streaks in the ground revealed freshly churned earth. Konoha's surroundings were also quite the spectacle, as debris was scattered out among the countryside for almost as far as could be seen from their high point. To the North, a crater could be seen. Hashirama recognized it from their trek back to the village. Only tailed beast balls were capable of doing such damage.

Rather than entering the village through the main gate, the ANBU team led them to a tunnel which had been carved through the mountains that comprised the Hokage monument. When they emerged, they were in the courtyard behind the Hokage tower. Up on the cliffs, there were a number of small buildings stuck against the rock, and Hashirama wondered about the extent of the tunnel system they had traveled through. As if reading his thoughts, Tobirama answered, "I had a tunnel and bunker system carved out for emergencies. All of Konoha's population can fit inside the network."

"That must have taken a while to construct, Konoha is not a small town."

Tobirama shrugged, "I wasn't much focused on making it large, I was focused on making it effective. Yes, all of Konoha's population can fit in there, but not comfortably. There are minimal supplies, but some nonetheless. The records are also kept there. It's meant to be a temporary shelter for not more than a few hours. Nobody could survive for any significant length of time in the tunnels."

In their conversation, they hadn't noticed one ANBU break off from the group, but he announced his return by clearing his throat. "The Hokage will see you now. The area has been secured." The medic nodded and began guiding Tsunade out into the streets of Konoha, and another followed carrying Ise's body, presumably to take both to a hospital.

Hashirama counted the faces on the monument. Four. The portrait of the fourth seemed to imply that the current Hokage's hair managed to be more spiky than Tobirama's, but he still held a secret childish belief that if his brother's hair were any more prickly, he would be a porcupine. He was wrong. The Fourth Hokage's hair was bright yellow and spiky enough that it could be used as a weapon.

"I am Namikaze Minato, Yondaime Hokage." The man spoke loudly, but gently.

Tobirama respectfully replied, "It's a pleasure to meet you," but Hashirama was so busy studying the room that he forgot about slight pleasantries, which earned him an elbow to the ribs, but the Fourth only looked amused.

"Pardon the mess, it's been a chaotic few days, as you might imagine." Hashirama did understand. He understood the stacks of files as tall as he was, and the overflow of records as shinobi files are pulled and updated, but not put away until the stacks reached a height that threatened to bury everyone in the room with paperwork. He understood the dark rings under the Fourth's eyes, and he understood the tense, official air with which everyone went about their duties. The Fourth continued, leaning back in his chair with a sigh, "I suppose I'm glad that we're meeting as friends. How much do you know about the situation?"

"Not much." Tobirama admitted, "What do you mean when you say that we're meeting as friends?"

"During the attack two days ago, I suspect there may have been involvement from an outside source, that it wasn't simply a natural disaster." He appeared lost in thought for a few moments, pausing to take a breath before continuing, "There are many unknowns about that night. The appearance of shinobi reanimated by the Edo Tensei technique is one of those mysteries. In any case, as of now, we know very little of the events of that night, although the event itself was highly significant. It'll take a while to sort through the rubble and compile evidence. I am sorry to say that until we have recovered from this, there aren't many village resources I will be able to dedicate to undoing Edo Tensei as we are not sure about the circumstances in which it was cast in the first place."

"That's quite alright," Hashirama interjected into the conversation. "It's not as if we have anywhere better to be. Any way that we are able to help, we will. However, in this instance, I do not think it would be wise to let many people know of our presence."

Tobirama nodded, "I concur. The village has been through a lot already. If it was known that we're stuck here, it might cause unnecessary stress and become a distraction."

The Fourth was scribbling on a notepad on the edge of his desk, "I have just the idea. It'll take a few hours to organize, so you may stay in the Hokage Tower until then."

"Thank you, Yondaime." Tobirama bowed deeply. It was good to know we had allies. They seemed to be in over their head.

"Please, Minato is fine."

Hashirama smiled, "If I might ask, are there any reports or files that we should read to be up to date on the happenings of the shinobi world since our deaths, or anything on what happened two days ago?"

"I can have someone bring some history books and make copies of the reports of shinobi who played an integral role in the Kyuubi attack, but as I said, we're stretched quite thin at the moment."

"Of course. Thank you for accommodating us."

The room they were placed in was small, but not completely cramped. The wall to the right of the heavy wooden door was a window that spanned nearly the entire wall, and offered a decent view of the barren stretch in the village with all the shinobi, who continued to buzz about like bees on this hot October day. Whereas outside the village seemed to comprise mostly ANBU operatives, the crews working to salvage this stretch of the village were all comprised of shinobi wearing the standard Konoha uniform. On the side of the room was a booth style table, with padded chairs meant to seat perhaps four to six people. Shelves lined the wall opposite the door, a library for reading simply for the enjoyment of it, with many fantasy and adventure novels. As they waited, Tobirama studied the bookshelves, taking note of prominent authors whom he did not recognize. Hashirama simply sat at the booth and stared out the window, watching the slow progress on the village.

At last, the bird mask ANBU entered the room holding several boxes. They were stacked on top of each other such that she had to bend to one side to see where she was walking. She set them on the table, and upon being relieved of the weight, rolled out her shoulders and stretched her arms over her head. "Well, there's all the records and books that could be pulled at the moment. Should keep you busy until you're able to go look for information yourselves."

"Thank you for taking the time." Hashirama said respectfully, but his attention was already focused on the boxes. Boxes of knowledge. The contents would tell how his village model had withstood the test of time. The bird mask nodded and left the room, quietly closing the door behind her. Hashirama took the two top boxes off the pile and set them to the side, opening the bottom box, which had no label. It was partially full of history textbooks and miscellaneous collections on the history of Konohagakure.

Tobirama had abandoned his examination of the bookshelf, and had pulled a generic textbook from the box that was probably meant to be used in Academy classes. "Alright, I think the best way to approach this will be to take a systematic approach. I'll look through this book and make a general timeline, you look at all the random books and see if you can figure out what subject they're about." Leave it to Tobirama to take the overly organized approach.

Hashirama glanced at the clock and with a sigh, went about his assigned task.

* * *

The textbooks were somewhat informative, but they didn't end up spending too much time, simply identifying events they assumed to be important and using the other resources to gain an understanding. The Third Shinobi World War, establishment of the Konoha Police, switching the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki a few years back, the Legendary Sannin, and an event in which an Uchiha boy who died had one of his sharingan transplanted into a non- Uchiha which Tobirama found quite fascinating, even making a mental note to find this shinobi later and question him about his experience.

The other two boxes were both labelled. 1010_001 and 1010_002 respectively. Both contained unorganized reports from the Kyuubi attack. Most of which were horribly uninteresting. Civilian accounts of seeing the monster from across town, complaints of missing pets, or knocked down fences. A special file folder in the second box, however, contained many of the most interesting reports, by the Hokage, by the clan heads, and Konoha intelligence and barrier officials.

Tobirama pulled out several sheets of unlined paper and laid out the contents of that file folder. "Let's get to work making a time table." Hashirama glanced at the clock once more and swore to himself, as he was positive it had been the exact same time when he last looked at the clock over an hour ago. _Desk work is so not my thing._ He grumbled to himself about boredom, knowing that Tobirama didn't want to hear any of his complaints, no matter how badly Hashirama wished he could simply go take a walk about the village to clear his head as he used to do. But nonetheless, he resolved himself to work diligently to get the chore over as quickly and painlessly as possible.

It took them nearly an hour to sift through the most important of the reports and to identify the key players in the village's operations on that night, and another five to track each person's activity throughout that night. As it turns out, the Fourth's wife was the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki, and October 10 was her due date. Uzumaki Kushina was taken to a location outside the village with ANBU guards, where Saru's wife acted as a midwife and Minato held the seal stable during labor. Additionally, Senju Ise, the dead woman from the Valley of the End, was present, as an additional layer of security for the seal and to monitor the barrier raised around the location. This was familiar to Hashirama. He had, of course, been forced to face the same role when Mito gave birth to their second son. The question was, what had gone wrong this time? When Hashirama had helped Mito through it, it was difficult and stressful, particularly for Mito, but they had gotten through it and the birth had no complications. The answers soon began to flow in. Minato describes a masked man with command of a space-time ability greater than that of Hiraijin no Jutsu. Recent ANBU reports of the scene describe it as a massacre. The only ones there that were not found at the scene were the Fourth himself, who survived, and Senju Ise, who had been killed at a different location.

The attack began at approximately 2130 on October 10 and the crisis was declared mostly contained at 0800 on October 11. For some reports, it was easy. The then retired Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was lead the offensive on the Kyuubi inside the village, and all reports on it agree unanimously that he took his last breath somewhere between 0230 and 0300 of a large piece of shrapnel from an exploding building. Others were mostly accounted for, such as Minato, who was witnessed in Konoha at the battle for only brief moments. Long enough to block a tailed beast ball from exploding on the village, which had caused the ugly gash in the city center, and then later to use Hiraijin to transport the monster to a location far from the village. The end for Minato had been from his own report, where he simply states that discussing options with Senju Ise resulted in a decision to create a new jinchuuriki for the Kyuubi, as it was too late to simply seal it back inside Kushina. However, as a weak newborn would not be able to handle the entirely of the Kyuubi's chakra, Ise split the tailed beast in two, the Yang portion inside baby Naruto, and the Yin portion inside his father, Minato.

The unknowns that Minato discussed are abundant when attempting to understand Ise's actions during the course of that evening. She is accounted for briefly at 2130-2145, then again from 2230 to 2300, and then no one sees her again for another four to five hours, where she seals the Kyuubi and once again disappears. Sealing the Kyuubi was the last time she was seen conscious, and Tsunade was the last to see her alive, presumably discovering her the next morning. The only hint of what she could have been doing away from the main battlefield for such a length of time are in miscellaneous reports of chakra disturbances from outside the village at certain times suggest that she was engaged in battle that whole time. If so, it could be assumed that she was engaged in a death match with the masked man described by Minato, although she unfortunately did not survive to confirm this assumption.

Even Tobirama seemed overwhelmed. "He was right. There are so many unknowns here, it makes it nearly impossible to fully sort out what happened and tack an identity and a motive onto that masked man. There are indeed several reports that describe Edo Tensei shinobi, ourselves included, but did the masked man cast that jutsu as well? It would have been a lot for him to be doing at once, to orchestrate this whole thing on his own. And what about Senju Ise? What's so special about her that she was present while Uzumaki Kushina was giving birth? What was she doing for the nearly six hours that she's completely unaccounted for? Where were the Uchiha during all this? Their report states they were ordered to assist in the evacuation of Konoha citizens, but there were also many Uchiha seen on the front lines that night." He made a growl of frustration in his throat and sighed, leaning back and scrunching up his eyes.

Hashirama understood his frustrations. There seemed to be no easy answer to any of this. And what's more, everything accomplished by the masked man, from his abilities, to his statements, suggested that he either _literally is_ Madara, or he was close enough to Madara to learn how to do all those things. Neither are likely. Madara has been dead nearly 70 years, so it couldn't be Madara himself, and any apprentice that he might have had would be old enough at this time that it's hardly believable such an old man could stage such an elaborate plan on his own. "There's something that we're missing here. There has to be."

"Unfortunately, Brother, it doesn't always work out that way in reality. Sometimes there's just not enough information."


	3. Chapter Three

**Live and Let Die**

 **Chapter Three**

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The uniforms were uncomfortable. They itched in odd places and even inside with the air conditioning blasting, Hashirama could feel the fabric soaking with sweat and sticking to him. Both uniforms featured a unique style of top which covered the deltoid muscles on their outer arms, presumably to hide that they both lacked the swirling tattoo that characterized the true members of the organization. The long cloak provided no armholes, draping over their shoulders to around knee length. The thick fabric and draping style were perfectly designed such that it would be fairly easy to conceal even larger weapons among its billowing shape.

After so long in one position, even Tobirama was ready to get out for some fresh air. And so, for the first time in years, the brothers walked side by side down the packed dirt roads of Konohagakure, although this time, a somber note was carried in the air by the weariness of the shinobi, and the manner by which civilians clambered over large slabs of concrete. The day was indeed scorching. Despite the weight of the cloaks, Hashirama was glad to have his, as it at least provided some shelter from the sun on the back of his neck.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Hashirama turned to his brother. If he could see Tobirama's face, he imagined it would be stuck in that same neutral expression it always was.

"What do you make of the whole incident?" Tobirama replied. "I think it's quite odd. There are too many mysteries for an event so enormous. It is easy enough to assume the masked man simply wanted chaos in which to accomplish something else, but what could that goal be?"

"I'm not sure. One thing stands out to me. That being Senju Ise's involvement. She's mentioned to have been there, but the only thing that stands out about why she might have been special is that she was there at all. We received very little information on her at all. Perhaps we should find our way to the hospital? To see if we can get information from her autopsy." Tobirama nodded, pulling out his map. The map had been altered by a red marker, with crossed out buildings and circles around certain areas.

"I suspect that these markings are of the damage caused during the attack." He turned the map to its index, scrolling down with his thumb until he found what he was looking for, "It would seem the hospital survived with minimal damage. Let's go."

They leapt off across the rooftops, the breeze refreshing them along the way. Unfortunately, the journey was quite short. The doors into the hospital slid open to their respective sides as they approached. At this, Tobirama muttered, "Interesting innovations," more to himself than anyone else.

Hashirama approached the reception desk, pulling his hood back as he did so. "Hello!" He quipped, "If possible, might we be allowed to visit the morgue?"

"Who are you here to see?"

"Senju Ise."

"Ah... I'll see what I can do." The receptionist picked up a black landline phone and dialed in an extension. "Yes, hello, I have two ANBU here wishing to examine Senju… uh-huh… yeah… I'll send them down." He hung up, reached into a drawer, and pulled out two tags that read "visitor." Handing them over, he pointed to the main elevator, explaining, "Take that elevator to the basement level. When you get down there, stay in the main hallway by exam room 2 until someone comes to see you."

"Thank you!" Hashirama went for his standard enthusiastic appreciation, but the receptionist had already moved on to take a call.

Every surface in the basement was paved with concrete. The fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling hurt Hashirama's eyes, and several windows provided a view into the exam rooms. As soon as they stepped from the elevator, they were greeted by someone standing there, already waiting for them, although they had come straight to the basement from the hospital's front desk. Hashirama couldn't be sure if they were civilian or shinobi based on their clothing, which consisted of a plain white cloth coverall garment. Blue latex gloves were pulled up to their wrists and he handed them each a document form his clipboard as he greeted them, and held open the door to exam room 2 for them.

Inside the room was a metal table, on which was a body covered in a white sheet. The room was square, the walls lined with miscellaneous medical and scientific equipment. The technician flicked on a switch, and a hanging light illuminated the medical table. "I'm glad someone has stopped by regarding this one," he began, setting his clipboard on a side table. He pulled back the sheet and there was the dark haired Senju. Her skin was unmistakably pale and clean, her hair slicked back and laid neatly by her head. She had been dressed in simple light blue pants and a shirt, just as clinical in appearance as everything in the hospital.

Tobirama and Hashirama approached the table from the opposite side, standing such that her head lay to their right hand side. "Female shinobi of Senju descent, age 17. Senju Ise. Time and date of death; estimated October 12, 0430." He glanced up at them, seemly expecting specific questions about the details of her death. Tobirama was jotting down his words in one of the black journals they had been given.

"Go ahead, continue. Just give us the run of it."

"Very well. She's different than many of the other deaths associated with the Kyuubi attack two days ago, both in the nature of her death and the timing of it. Most of the injured and dead present with injuries consistent with large scale unsurvivable blunt force trauma and severe burns. Her cause of death was internal bleeding in the chest cavity and in the brain, which the added injuries to her skull suggest that at least some component of her death was blunt force trauma. However, she sustained numerous injuries on top of those, including chakra burns, and a stab wound clear through her abdomen." He pulled up her shirt to expose her abdomen, on which was a partially healed round hole. "Whatever fight she was in was quite taxing to her chakra, as she was unable to heal from such injuries as she normally would. The ANBU that dropped her off at the hospital registered her as another casualty of the Kyuubi attack, but if you ask me, she was killed in a fight with another person. No tailed beast is responsible for this."

 _But we already know that._ Hashirama thought. Although, he recalled, the official statement by Konoha's leadership was that the Kyuubi attack was a natural disaster. Tobirama seemed to be thinking the same. They had to be careful. This man now has proof that something strange was going on that night, as it wouldn't be easy to sell that she was simply on a mission that day given her involvement in the crisis, and if there's suspicion that the Konoha leadership is hiding something about the Kyuubi attack, it can cause the people to distrust the Hokage, which is the last thing Konoha needs at a time such as this.

He seemed to be looking for some kind of answer to his discoveries, studying them as if new information could be learned from their expressionless masks.

Tobirama scribbled something down in the journal, then looked up to watch as the sheet was pulled back up over the body. "Thank you for taking the time to give us a briefing. We will report back to the Hokage, and in light of your discoveries, send for the body to be transferred to ANBU facilities." Hashirama realized he had been holding his breath, waiting for the response, but the man simply nodded, seemingly buying Tobirama's response.

Back out on the streets of Konoha, no words were exchanged, but Tobirama handed over his journal for Hashirama to read. Notes on the autopsy, save a circled phrase at the bottom of the page reading, "Get personnel file from Hokage ASAP."

"Was there something wrong?" Hashirama whispered, "Aside from the suspicion cast on the Hokage?"

"Everything about her death doesn't line up. Why she was so involved in the first place, why she died, why she was absent for such a great portion of the battle." Tobirama pulled him into an alley, "If the orchestrator of the attack had some specific goal in mind, it was either to target a specific part of Konoha using the Kyuubi as a distraction, or to kill Ise. If he had any other goal, he would be the one to carry it out as there are not signs of a second human attacker, but he wouldn't be able to do that if he spent the whole time engaged in battle with a single shinobi. Someone who's skilled enough to pull off this whole thing would be difficult to monopolize a battle with. If there's something specific about Ise that got her killed, we need to find out what that is. It's possible that killing her wasn't his initial plan, but once they learned she was involved in the incident, the original plan of attack could have been abandoned. The only other option remaining for motive would be any collection of reasons that someone would want to possess the power of a tailed beast, but again, why abandon the Kyuubi and go off to do something else. Ultimately, the Kyuubi started and ended the battle in Konoha's possession, so if the objective was to take it, that would mean that they failed because they spent the whole night occupied fighting with Ise." Tobirama released him. The difficulty of the situation weighed heavily on him. Never before had someone managed to attack Konoha and leave so little evidence about their motive or identity.

Hashirama nodded, "I see what you mean. We should get back to discuss this with the Fourth before it gets too late." The sun had begun to set, illuminating the western half of the village in a rich orange light. They leapt up to the rooftops and set off towards the Hokage Tower, racing the sun as the sky paled into dusk.

Their arrival at the Hokage Tower was met with an assortment of law enforcement. They were allowed to make it through the guards with relatively minimal effort, although one of the Konoha Police, an Uchiha, made a point of glaring suspiciously and shouting after them, "You had better not cause any trouble!"

One of the rooms in the great building was marked off with crime scene tape. Whatever had happened must have already been dealt with, as a body was already laid out on a stretcher in a black plastic zip up bag, what remained were a few civilians who work in the building giving reports about what had happened. The Fourth appeared beside them silently. Tobirama took out his journal once more and began to fiddle with it.

Hashirama turned to Minato. "What happened?"

Minato stood with a slouch, but was holding a bundle of blankets delicately to his chest, not wanting to wake his son. He looked just as he had looked earlier in the day, as if he hadn't slept since the attack. Hashirama reasoned that that was probably true. He lost his wife in such a horrible way, but was still expected to get up and do his job the next morning, even with a newborn son to care for. He spoke in a whisper, "One of the Elders has been assassinated. We don't know who did it, and no alarms were tripped by the assassin. Because just what this village needs now is another mystery." He sounded bitter and upset. "As I understand it, Koharu and Danzo were meeting to discuss matters relating to the investigation, when the assassin breaks through the window, slices through Koharu's throat, and tries to do the same to Danzo, who managed to fight him off, but sustained minor injuries in the process."  
"Is there any conflicting account?" Tobirama asked. He sighed, it seemed that the world was determined to pick off his students one by one. If that were true, then Danzo is lucky he only escaped with minor injuries, _this time._

"No, thankfully. Everyone seems to concur about the events. It's quite unfortunate. We'll track down the assassin as best as we can. I've put you two up in a hotel in downtown for the night. Here are the room keys."

"Thank you, Fourth." Tobirama whispered, taking the envelope that Minato pulled from his pocket. As he grasped the envelope, he traded its place in Minato's hand for a folded slip of paper, it was best not to have a full conversation about the issue tonight, although he wanted the Hokage to be at least aware of their discoveries as soon as possible. "Try and get some sleep tonight, you look like death. If you ever need a babysitter, you know where to find us."

Hashirama nodded, "We'll be happy to."

As they turned to leave, Tobirama noticed that Minato was shaking slightly, taking deep breaths, and had closed his hand into a tight fist. He really was not doing well.

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 **Just wanted to say thank you for reading so far already, I'm attempting to update as fast as possible. Please leave opinions and ideas as reviews, it helps me improve my writing and connects me to the community!**


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